French farmers held a protest in Paris and across the country yesterday against a European Union trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur. Photo / Alain Jocard, AFP
French farmers held a protest in Paris and across the country yesterday against a European Union trade deal with the South American bloc Mercosur. Photo / Alain Jocard, AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron says France will vote against the European Union’s trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur, after farmers rolled into Paris on tractors in a show of anger against the pact.
“France will vote against signing the agreement,” he said on X, a day before member stateswere to cast ballots on a final go-ahead for a deal that has been more than 25 years in the making.
The accord would create one of the world’s biggest free-trade areas and allow the 27-nation European Union (EU) to export more vehicles, machinery, wines and spirits to Latin America.
But farmers fear being undercut by a flow of cheaper goods from agricultural giant Brazil and its neighbours.
Dozens of tractors arrived before dawn yesterday (local time) and drove through Paris, some pausing at the Eiffel Tower and others at the Arc de Triomphe, before farmers protested outside the lower house of Parliament.
Plans to seal the deal at a gathering in Brazil last month ran into a late roadblock as EU heavyweights Italy and France demanded a postponement over concerns for the farming sector.
The EU offered a carrot to farmers on Tuesday, promising to unlock funds for the sector as it seeks to get the accord over the line.
Macron said the European Commission should be credited for “undeniable progress” in the details of the deal, but he said his country would vote against it after “unanimous political rejection” in Parliament.
EU member states are expected to give the text the final go-ahead on Friday, paving the way for a formal signature next week.
“The signing stage does not mark the end of the story,” Macron said.
“I will continue to fight for the full, concrete implementation of the commitments obtained from the European Commission and to protect our farmers.”
A giant cow in the colours of the French flag is displayed outside France’s National Assembly during the protest. Photo / Ludovic Marin, AFP
Unions have called for more protests in front of the EU Parliament building in the French city of Strasbourg on January 20 if the deal is signed.
There were 100 tractors in the Paris region, the interior ministry told AFP earlier yesterday, but “most are blocked at the gates of the capital”.
It later said 670 protesters were in the capital.
In another protest near the southwestern city of Bordeaux, about 40 farm vehicles blocked access to a fuel depot, local officials said.
Farmers are also upset over a government decision to cull cows in response to the spread of nodular dermatitis, a bovine sickness widely known as lumpy skin disease.
Ireland against, Italy supports deal
Belgian farmers have also staged mass protests against the trade deal. About 1000 honking tractors, including some from France, rolled into Brussels in December.
Ireland also said yesterday that it would vote against the trade deal.
Germany and Spain are, however, strongly in favour of the agreement, believing it will provide a welcome boost to their industries, currently hampered by Chinese competition and US tariffs.
Italy and France have called for tougher safeguard clauses, tighter import controls and more stringent standards on Mercosur producers to protect their farmers.
But Italy hailed the benefits of the agreement on Wednesday, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani saying the country had “always supported the conclusion of the deal”.
